lichen

I am sitting in a wood and nearby I see, on a twig, on a branch of a small tree, I see a lichen. This lichen is branching, it’s like a tiny tree all in itself, pale green in colour.

Lichen, for me, is a beautiful form of being. It sits right at the boundary of those things that we consider not to be alive – like rocks – right at the boundary between those non-living beings and the living beings. And I love lichen. I love it because it’s right there, allowing the rest of life to come. Other animals can eat it, and yet it itself takes so little, just a few minerals from rocks, from the air, from the bark of trees, just a few minerals. It is a very simple form of life, demanding so little and in a way giving so much.

This simplicity of being reminds me of the way of a buddha, not placing great demands on life, not taking more than is necessary, but just being – being and allowing others to be nourished by our being. This is the beauty of lichen. It is the beauty of our buddha nature too, a simplicity of being, a non-demanding way of being, and an availability to others. I give thanks for this lichen. I give thanks for its simple way of being.